Consumers should take the time to prepare themselves by researching prices and quality before they hit the stores or Internet this holiday shopping season, according to University of Colorado Boulder Professor Donald Lichtenstein.

Being prepared can save consumers money, steer them away from overspending and even change their way of thinking about purchasing gifts during the holidays, said Lichtenstein, chair of the marketing department at CU-Boulder's Leeds School of Business.

As an increasingly diverse state, Colorado will continue to thrive only if it can successfully educate a broad swath of students all the way through college. That's why we're pleased to see the University of Colorado at Boulder is reporting this year's freshman class includes a record 22 percent minority students. Read more.

Community Notes

A helicopter will be in use on the University of Colorado Boulder campus near Folsom Field from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 21, to assist with an operation to upgrade existing wireless equipment.

The helicopter will land in lot 375 north of Franklin Field around 8 a.m. and then be used several times during the day to remove existing equipment from the roof of the stadium’s skyboxes and lift new equipment into place. A helicopter will be used because the distance required for maintenance is too far for the reach of a crane.

Raymond Webster Hamilton, wanted for questioning in a pattern of recent wallet thefts at three university campuses, is in custody.

Hamilton, 26, of Denver, is a suspect wanted in connection with the theft of an iPad at the University of Colorado Boulder over the summer. He is also a person of interest in at least 23 cases of wallet and laptop thefts at CU-Boulder, CU Anschutz Medical Campus and the Colorado School of Mines.

Bring the family to delight in more than 150 brightly animated light sculptures decorating the zoo’s trees, lawns and bushes. There also will be live animal demonstrations, rides on the carousel and an appearance by CU Santa!